Page 104 - SST Class 08

EFFECTS OF THE PARTITION REASONS FOR THE EMERGENCE OF

1. The people of Bengal reacted ot the parti- THE RADICALS
tion very strongly and considered it disrup- The various reasons for the emergence of the
tive to Hindu-Muslim unity and a blow to radicals were the following :
Bengali literature and culture. The unrest 1. The moderates did not achieve anything
was followed by strong government mea- substantial and this disillusioned the people
sures of lathi charges, arrests and imprison- who were now looking for rapid political
ments. Lord Curzon had to face the outrage action.
of the Bengali people when the moderates 2. There was increasing frustration and bitter-
and the radicals along with the Muslims
ness among the educated Indians regarding
made strong joint efforts to stop the parti-
the British policies and the protest measures
tion. This belied his hopes of checking the
taken by the moderates against them.
national movement which gained impetus
3. Increasing poverty among the people.
instead.
4. Agitations that were successful in other
2. The Swadeshi movement urged people to
countries like France, Ireland, Egypt, Turkey,
use Indian goods and reject British,
China, etc., motivated the Indian people
machine-made goods. Swadeshi Movement
and convinced them that if a small group of
and boycott of British goods quickly gath-
people were well organized, they could
ered force and even spread outside Bengal.
possibly defeat the British.
This encouraged Indian industry and
adversely affected the British economy.
3. The people united because of the anti-
partition movement and became more
involved in the national movement.
4. Finally, under the increased pressure of public
opinion, the government annulled the
decision of partition. The annulment of the
partition of Bengal was the ultimate triumph
of the radicals over the moderates. With this
they took over the reins of the national
movement. The cancellation of the decision
of partition from the government came too
late. In the meantime, the protests of the
united people of Bengal had already gained Bal Gangadhar Tilak
momentum. They organised demonstrations, 5. The leadership of Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal
and declared the partition day as a Day of Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal
Mourning. Vande Mataram, the song written inspired the people to a greater struggle.
by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee became the Tilak put forward the famous concept of
national song and encouraged a sense of swaraj—“swaraj is my birthright and I shall
national solidarity. have it”. They emphasised on the strength
of the people being a major weapon and

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